Rotary drop coin-planter.



v PATENTED MAY26, 1903. R. ARMSTRONG & P. W. BURGER.

ROTARY DROP CORN PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented May 26, 1903.

PATENT OFFIoE.

ROBERT ARMSTRONG AND FREDERICK W. BURGER, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

ROTARY DROPCORN-PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 729,484, dated May 26, 1903. Application filed November 24, 1902. Serial No. 132,580. \No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ROBERT ARMSTRONG and FREDERICK W. BURGER, citizens of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have in- Vented a new and useful Rotary Drop Corn- Planter, of which the following is a specification.

Our object is to produce the intermittent motion required in rotary corn-droppers in a planter by automatic mechanism that is simple, positive in motion, and eminently efficient; and it consists in the construction, are:

rangement, and combination of elements and subcombinations, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is atop view of the base of a seedhopper to which are jointly fitted a plate that has a mutilated circular gear-wheel and a seed-plate in the form of a ring that has notches in its circumference that serve as seed-cups. Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the plate that has a mutilated gear on its under side and pins extending radially from its circumference. Fig. 3 is a side view of the lower portion of a seed-hoppermounted upon the fixed base. Parts of the plate fixed to the bottom of the hopper are broken away to disclose the rotatable toothed plate and the seed-plate. Fig. 4: shows all the operative parts connected with the standards of a runner-frame as required to cooperate in producing intermittent rotary motion of theseedplates in the bottoms of the seed-hoppers.

The numeral designates the base-plate of a seed-hopper, fixed on top of the standard 12 of the runner-frame. It has a raised center portion 13, that is provided with a central bolt-hole through which a bolt is extended upward for connecting the overlying ring plates and a cover-plate in a common way.

The mutilated-gear ring plate 15 has four series of seven teeth equidistant apart and vacant spaces 16 between each series. It also has fixed pins 17 extending radially from its circumference and is fitted to the annular shoulder 18 of the fixed base 10 to rotate thereon. On top of the ring are integral ratchet-teeth 19, adapted to engage corresponding notches in the rotatable seed-plate 20, as required to transmit intermittent motion to the seed-plate.

The rotatable seed ring or plate 20 has notches 21 in its inner edge to admit the ratchet-teeth 19 of ring plate 15, and has notches or seed-cups 22 in its circumference at regular distances apart, as required to convey and drop a given number of seeds at each intermittent motion of the ring plate 15. It is obvious the seed-cups may vary in numher in different plates, to be interchangeable as required to plant different numbers of seeds at each intermittent motion of the seedplate as a planter is advanced in a field.

The bottom 22 of the seed-hopper 23 has an internal flange 24L fitted to the annular shoulder of the fixed base 10 and the under side of the ring or seed plate 20, as required to jointly rotate the plates 15 and 20 between the fixed base 10 and the fixed bottom 22 of the seed-hopper 23.

A rotatable shaft 25, mounted in bearings fixed to the runner-frame, has pinions 26 on its ends to engage the series of teeth 15 on the under side of the mutilated-gear ring plate 20, as required to impart four intermittent motions to the seed-plate at each revolution of the plates 15 and 20. A pinion 26 is fixed to each end'of the shaft to engage the teeth of the mutilated gear on the under side of the ring plate 20.

A rock-shaft 27 is mounted in bearings fixed to the standards of the runners, to be operated at intervals in a common way by means of a knotted rope and check-row mechanism (not shown) connected with the end of the shaft in such a manner that fingers 28,fixed to the shaft 27, will every time the said shaft is vibrated come in contact with the fixed pins 17, that extend horizontally from the plate 20, as required to impart rotary motion to the plate 20 at the same time the pinions 26 are idle between two series of the teeth on the under side of the plate 20 and allow the plates 15 and 20 to remain stationary until the fingers 28 press the pins 17 forward to start the rotation of the said plates again by bringing the pinions 17 into engagement with a series of teeth on the under side of the plate 20.

It is obvious that while the shaft 25, having fixed fingers 28 and pinions 26, is rotated continuously the plates 15, having fixed pins 17, and the plates 20, connected with the plates 15, will be thus rotated automatically and intermittently by the coaction of the rotary shaft 25 and the rock-shaft 27, as required to drop seeds at regular intervals of space as the machine is advanced in a field.

Having thus described the purpose of our invention and its construction and operation, the practical utility thereof will be obvious to persons familiar with the art to which it pertains.

\Vhat We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. I11 a corn-planter, the combination of a ring plate having a mutilated gear on its under side, consisting of distinct series of teeth, and straight fixed pins at its circumference extending radially from each series of teeth, and arock-shaft having a fixed finger adapted to engage the fixed pins extending from said plate, for the purposes stated.

2. In a corn-planter, the combination of a ring plate having amutilated gear on its under side, consisting of distinct series of teeth, and straight fixed pins at its circumference extending radially from each series of teeth,

a seed-plate detachably connected with said ring plate, and a rotatable shaft having a fixed pinion adapted to engage the mutilated gear on the under side of said ring plate, for the purposes stated.

3. In a corn-planter, a seed-hopper, a hopper-base fixed to a runner-frame, a ringshaped plate rotatably mounted on the fixed base, and provided with a mutilated gear on its under side and pins extended radially from its circumference, a seed-plate fitted on top of said ring-shaped plate and detachably connected therewith, a rotatable shaft having a fixed pinion on its ends to engage the teeth of the said mutilated gear and a rockshaft having fixed fingers to engage the said pins extended from the ring-shaped plate having a mutilated gear, arranged and combined to operate in the manner set forth for the purposes stated.

ROBT. ARMSTRONG. FREDERICK \V. BURGER.

Vitnesses:

WILLIAM W. WALLACE, W. L. HOVEY. 

